This invention generally relates to a retainer for maintaining a bearing in a desired position on an input shaft for a vehicle transmission.
Vehicle transmissions are well known. Vehicle transmissions typically include an input shaft that is adapted to be coupled to an engine output shaft through a master clutch. When the engine output shaft is coupled with the transmission input shaft, the engine provides a motive force for rotating the transmission input shaft. The transmission input shaft rotates through a gearing arrangement to provide a drive force on a transmission output shaft that operates to drive the wheels of the vehicle.
The transmission input shaft rotates relative to other portions of the transmission, including a transmission case. Accordingly, bearings are provided to facilitate the rotation of the input shaft. The conventional manner of arranging bearings on an input shaft introduces several drawbacks and difficulties. Conventionally, input shaft bearings have typically been held in place using an assembly that includes a plurality of bolts or other fasteners to hold the input bearings in place. These bolts and fasteners render the overall assembly more time-consuming for assembly and disassembly when it is desirable to service or repair the transmission. In addition to rendering a transmission more difficult to service, the conventional manner of maintaining input shaft bearings in a desired position has placed physical limitations on remaining portions of the transmission that are less than optimum. For example, bearings associated with a countershaft in the transmission are necessarily restricted to certain dimensions because of the bolts or fasteners utilized to maintain the input shaft bearing in place.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide an improved transmission assembly where the input shaft bearing is maintained in place and that avoids the shortcomings and drawbacks discussed above. This invention addresses those needs.